Squall
by Hamstercheese7
Summary: Storms kill more Marines than pirates do, and that hits a little too close to home.


**One-Shot: Squall**

* * *

Clash! Tashigi blocked the scimitar her opponent slashed towards her head, deflecting the blade to her right, giving her the opening she needed to smash her foot into his knee. He went down with a pained shout, Tashigi slamming the hilt of her blade into the side of his face, spittle flying, knocking him out cold. She whirled around, bringing her blade up defensively, brown eyes searching for her next opponent. The sound of battle raged about her, cannon fire and gunshots, the yells of her men and pirates alike. Over it all, the wind roared, and enormous waves crashed. Rain pelted the deck, droplets hitting so hard they stung. A sudden bolt of lightning erupted overhead, followed instantaneously by a deafening clap of thunder, the sheer power of it vibrating the ship.

She frowned, pushing her wet hair out of her eyes. She turned rushing towards a small group of her men who appeared to have finished with their opponents as well. "Take down the sails!" she yelled, pointing upwards at the masts. The sails billowed ominously, the wind buffeting them to and fro. They saluted and scrambled towards the rigging. They'd have a terrible time of it, with winds this strong. She looked around, the lights along the deck and from the bridge threw crazy shadows around, making it harder to see. She could just make out the enemy ship connected to theirs by grappling hooks, the vague shapes of pirates charging the prow of her ship and getting caught in her quagmire of men, swords flashing and guns firing.

They needed to finish the battle quickly and disengage, the unforeseen squall was more dangerous than most pirates. The ship suddenly pitched portside, and Tashigi was thrown up against the outer metal wall of the bridge. She scrabbled for purchase as her ship swayed violently, feet slipping on the seawater rushing across the deck from the massive swell that battered them around like a bath toy. She shook her soaked black bangs out of her eyes, glasses streaked with water. She hated the crazy weather changes in the New World. The Marines lost more men and ships to storms than they did to pirates.

Just an hour or two before, the sun had been bright and shiny, high in the sky above them. It had been so hot, she'd removed the bottoms of her cutoffs. She regretted that now, her skin ached with cold, noticeable despite the adrenaline shooting through her veins. Tashigi gripped her sword tightly, having regained her footing and glanced around. The last wave had apparently cleared her small space of friends and foes alike. She looked up again, and saw her men were making progress on furling the sails. Another swell slammed into the ship and Tashigi stabbed the tip of her sword into the deck to keep from losing her feet.

Another crack of lightning revealed the state of the battle. The pirates were on the defensive, running back for their ship, though she wasn't sure if they were fleeing her men or fleeing the storm. She shook her head, swiping at the rain that clouded her glasses, though they clouded up again nearly as fast. She shoved them up into her hair with a snarl.

Fog rippled high above the ships, the distinctive sound of blows being exchanged was now loud enough to be heard over the storm. She looked up, eyes searching frantically. The fog was familiar, Vice Admiral Smoker in good form. Was he battling with the pirate captain? She wasn't even sure what pirates they were up against, their ship had been flying white flags. She cursed under her breath. The pirates had fooled them into thinking they were a ship in distress. It wasn't until their warship had closed in that the pirates had sprung their trap, firing grappling hooks and cannons. The storm had whipped up shortly after their fraught battle started.

Strange popping sounds burst and fizzled above her head, not dissimilar to fireworks. The fog dissipated and reformed. Whomever Smoker was fighting was definitely another fruit user. Right at that moment, the wind picked up, changing the direction of the rain, and whipping it into her face. She closed her eyes. The sound of their men yelling in both rage and terror made her clench her fist.

They were getting nowhere with this! They needed to get away from these fucking pirates! Gritting her teeth, she yanked her sword out of the wood and rushed towards the railing, planning on cutting the ropes connecting her ship with the pirates. She moved fast, slicing the ropes with relative ease. Loud yelling drew her attention towards the prow of the ship. Another flash of lightning illuminated the battle harshly. She could just make out her men rushing the pirates that had made the stupid (or bold?) decision to try to board a Marine Warship. They were cornered now that their ship was drifting quickly away from the G5 warship, her quick work on the grappling hooks letting the waves force the two ships apart. She tightened her grip on her sword and pushed away from the railing, running towards the prow of the ship. She could end this!

She became a target again, the closer she approached. A hulking bearded pirate of a man, his flaming eye tattoos screwed up in rage, rushed her, swinging his equally huge axe down towards her out of the darkness. Piroting quickly, she dodged out of the way, and sliced upwards, her blade cutting into his stomach. She landed, turned and-

BOOM!

The sky lit up with a massive explosion, so hot she could feel it on her face as she jerked her head up, eyes wide. A streak of white was blown out of the explosion, her eyes just catching it as it was thrown into the sea.

Tashigi didn't think, she just moved.

The ice cold of the sea nearly took her breath away, the current of the waves sucked her down, ripping her glasses from her head, rolling her head over heels. Her training kicked in and Tashigi plunged downward, trying to reach less disturbed water. She knew she only had a few moments to find Smoker before he sank too deep! The brine burned her eyes, the darkness of the ocean pressing upon her from all angles as she searched frantically, everything fuzzy and indistinct in the darkness.

There! A flash of white below her, sinking fast! She dove, lungs screaming, the current pushing against her. Her muscles screamed as she kicked downward, gaining fast. She reached out, snagged the back of Smoker's coat, and yanked. Sweet lord he was heavy! They weren't called hammers for nothing! Her lungs were seizing, but Tashigi hooked her arm around her commander's waist and kicked upward, hard. It felt like a building was pushing her down, but she kicked and kicked and kicked. Her life depended on it, Vice Admiral Smoker's life depended on it, and she refused to fail!

It was a lifetime before Tashigi broke the surface, spots blanketing her vision. She sucked in air greedily, the burning in her chest so intense it brought tears to her eyes. She struggled to stay afloat with only one arm, Smoker's limp body making her movements awkward. She tried to keep his head above the water, but the erratic waves kept swamping them. She felt herself getting swept upward into a massive wave, and she gripped Smoker's jacket so tightly her knuckles turned white just before the wave broke over them. They were spun around and around like a leaf caught in a whirlpool, but she managed to just hold onto her commanding officer and ride out the wave as it shoved her under once again. Coughing and spluttering, she broke the surface once again with a gasp. Smoker's weight was pulling her down, if she didn't figure out something quick, they would drown! She looked around wildly for their ship, twisting in the water, screaming for help but her voice was nothing in the wind and rain and waves. She couldn't see the ship, the waves too tall and the sky too dark.

Lightning split the air and she screamed, the peal of thunder so loud it drowned the sound of the ocean. A great horrible cracking sound followed not a moment after, and for a few seconds it was as bright as day illuminating the battle. Their ship and the pirate's had separated, but lighting had struck one of the her ship's masts causing it to burst into flame, a horrendous crackling sound ripped through the air as it began falling towards the sea. Tashigi stared in transfixed horror, before a wave crashed upon her again, sucking her down.

By the time she struggled to the surface, the fire had spread, but she was far from the ship, the current carrying her and Smoker farther and farther away from safety. The storm intensified, more massive waves crashing and breaking around them, pushing and pulling her in every direction. Time and place blurred together, as time and time again Tashigi was pulled under the water, barely managing to find the strength to fight her way back up for air. The world felt farther and farther away until all she could remember was the struggle against the ocean, the fight for air, the exhaustion in her muscles, in her bones.

It could have been minutes or it could have been hours before a dark solid shape on the horizon made it into her vision, dream-like in it's appearance. Tashigi made her way towards it, the sea working with her instead of against her. She noted in the back of her mind that the rain was less intense, the waves less large, but it was like she was grasping at fog, the exhaustion pulling at all her senses. She couldn't feel her arms or legs, or much of anything. Even the cold. That couldn't be good. Reach land, get out of the water. She repeated that over and over, like a prayer.

When her feet hit silt, she cried, but her eyes and lungs burned so much that the choking sob wracking her body made her flounder. With a last push, she pulled herself and Smoker from the sea, his full dead weight making her collapse face first into shifting sand and mud. Choking back exhausted sobs, she pushed herself to her knees and slowly, agonizingly pulled the both of them up onto the beach, away from the murderous ocean.

Tashigi was so tired. So fucking tired, it was a battle just to keep her eyes open. It was just light enough to see, and the rain had slowed to a miserable drizzle. She laid on her back for a moment, just breathing. "Vice Admiral Smoker...?" she whispered after a few moments, her voice sounding alien to her ears, scratchy and hoarse. He didn't respond. "Smoker-san?" Tashigi tried again, shakily reaching out to shake his shoulder. Nothing. She stared at him, a different kind of cold sweeping through her. His eyes were closed, his lips had a bluish tinge, and he lay unnaturally still.

Don't do this.

He wasn't breathing. Terror crashed through her, shoving the tiredness away and she scrambled onto her knees, kneeling and pressing her ear flat against his freezing chest. Nothing.

No. No. No.

Hastily, she pressed her hands over his sternum and began counting, opening his mouth and pushing air down his throat. His lips were like ice. Press, hold, release.

Press

Hold

Release

Repeat. Beg.

"Don't do this to me, please don't do this to me, breathe dammit!"

Press, hold, release. Press hold, release. "Breathe! Please! Smoker-san!"

He wasn't breathing, _he wasn't breathing _. This couldn't be happening. Tashigi expected him to die from pirates, or to get old and fat in retirement, not to drown! This was her fault, if she had been stronger, she could have gotten him out of the water faster. She always failed him, and now she was failing him when he needed her most. "FUCKING breathe!" she sobbed, the tears cascading down her face as she pressed hard against his chest and sealed her lips against his.

A ragged cough against her mouth, and Tashigi froze. Then scrambled to turn him on his side as he sucked in air desperately and coughed water, spluttering, shoulders heaving. Deranged desperate laughter bubbled out of her. Smoker was covered in sand, his white hair sticking in every direction, and vomiting, but it was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen. True exhaustion yanked at her and her eyelids fluttered shut, the world spinning and going fuzzy. "Thank god," she whispered and the world went black.

* * *

Everything hurt. Everything, her eyelids, her arms, her chest, everything. But she was warm. It was the warmth that forced her to painstakingly open her eyes. Slowly the world came into "focus" or as focused as it could be without her glasses. The vague shape of palm fronds above her, the fuzzy gray of clouds and patches of blue high above that. Her clothing stuck awkwardly to her, the salt from the sea making it rough and crusty against her skin. But, she was dry. A tiny groan escaped Tashigi's lips as she struggled up into a sitting position, her muscles screaming in protest. Something heavy and warm slid off her chest and into her lap. Tashigi blinked and looked down. Smoker-san's coat. It was more gray than white from caked on mud, but dry. She touched the symbols for Justice gently.

"Good, you're awake," came a familiar gruff voice from slightly behind her. She turned gingerly, her exhausted muscles not cooperating. Sitting back against the scrawny palm tree, it's branches moving slightly in the breeze, was Smoker. Tashigi stared at him; he had a cut on his left cheek, terrible bruises forming on his left side, and- her eyes widened. Bruises the size of her fists were forming in the middle of his chest from her chest compressions.

His face, lips blue, body lifeless next to hers flashed before Tashigi's eyes, and she felt her eyes start to burn with tears. "S-Smoker-san, you're okay?" she whispered, her lips cracking. He nodded once. She smiled, gripping his coat in her hand. The smile slid off her face quickly as the tears started falling. "You almost died, you weren't breathing, I'm sorry about the bruises," she choked out, as her shoulders started shaking, her body wracking with quiet sobs. She couldn't stop picturing him as good as dead, how close she'd come to failing him. It was like Punk Hazard all over again, his body lying in the snow, her unable to do anything.

Quiet as smoke, he was suddenly beside her, reaching out a hand gently, pulling her against his chest. Smoker wasn't one for physical affection, the occasional clap on the shoulder when she did well or smack to the back of them head when she screwed up. This was something different, and it made her ache all the more. She expected him to scold her, like he usually did when she screwed up.

He said nothing as he held her, his chin resting on the top of her head while she sobbed. He almost died. He almost died. _Died _. She curled into his warm chest, practically crawling into his lap, apologizing and sobbing incoherently. He was warm, so warm. She would get stronger, faster, so he'd never come this close to dying from something as stupid as drowning ever again.

* * *

When Tashigi next woke, it was dark, but the sky was clear enough for the moon to cast a soft pale glow over everything. She felt, well, not better, but not like her body was made of stone. She was under Smoker's jacket again, it was so large it encompassed her entire body. But it was her back that felt the warmest. She turned her head slowly and came face to face with the Vice Admiral. Tashigi's breath caught in her throat. He was asleep behind her, spooning against her back, arm thrown over her waist. He snored softly. He must be exhausted too. Was he cold? Her fingers twisted in his coat, worried suddenly, but he didn't appear to be cold. He was quite warm, maybe his devil fruit powers always made him warm, which could explain his propensity for always going without a shirt.

She must have made a noise or something because he stirred. His brown eyes opened to meet hers. They stared at each other for a moment, before a tiny smile broke across Tashigi's face.

He was still here. She shifted, turned back around and settled against Smoker's chest once more, reaching down and entwining her fingers with his. He didn't push her away, and warmth spread through her limbs.

They had time, they were still here. She closed her eyes and slipped willingly into sleep this time.

In the morning, Smoker woke her by shaking her shoulder. "We're going home," he murmured in Tashigi's ear, voice gruff from sleep. He pointed out the bright white sails of a ship. She could just make out the fuzzy shapes of the symbols of the Marines and the World Government gleaming in the early morning sun. Relief swept through her. Turning her head, Tashigi, black hair and pale skin encrusted with sand and salt, smiled at him, her brown eyes bright. "Yes, Sir," she agreed. The corner of Smoker's mouth lifted slightly upward at her, eyes glancing down at their hands, still entwined. Tashigi squeezed gently, Smoker squeezed back.

Yes, they had time.

* * *

**Notes:**

I would love feedback. I hope the characters aren't too OOC. I wrote this while listening to Existentialism on Prom Night by Straylight Run on repeat, take what you will from that. Thanks for reading! This is crossposted to AO3.


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